A total of 23,502 women have been killed in Syria since the start of the revolution in March 2011, a rights group said on Wednesday. Nearly 91 percent of the victims were killed at the hands of regime forces, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said.

In a report published on the occasion of the International Women's Day, the SNHR said that at least 763 women were killed by regime snipers since March 2011. It pointed out that there are around 7,571 women detained in the prisons of the Assad regime or forcibly disappeared.

Member of the Syrian Coalition Ruba Habboush said that while women around the world celebrate this day, thousands of Syrian women are enduring unspeakable suffering in the prisons of the Assad regime.

Habboush paid a tribute to “Syrian women remaining steadfast in the face of the tyrannical regime and who are making immense sacrifices to regain their freedom.”

Member of the Syrian Dima Moussa paid a tribute to “all women on International Women's Day, and in particular the Syrian woman who is still making huge sacrifices and remaining steadfast against injustice and oppression in all its forms."

The Network noted that Syrian women actively participated in the Syrian revolution, adding that the Assad regime continues to deliberately target women in order to break their will and end their vital role. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)

Militias of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) continue to engage in repressive practices against political dissidents and activists in northern Syria. PYD militias have detained about 42 members of the Kurdish National Council (KNC) in the areas under their control over the past two days.

The Council said that these practices violate to the values ​​of democracy and freedom and are aimed at silencing all dissident voices.

Mahmoud Ismail, senior member of the KNC-affiliated Kurdistan Democratic Party, said that the PYD police force, known as the Asayish, have detained 33 members of the party, two members of the Kurdish Future Movement, one member of the Yeketi Party, a member of the local council, and a media activist in the past two days.

Mohsin Taher, representative of the local councils in the Kurdish National Council, confirmed the detentions, adding that only two have been released so far.

The General Secretariat of the Council condemned the repressive practices of the PYD militias against its members, stressing that these practices and policies are detrimental to the Kurdish cause as they violate the values ​​of freedom and democracy.

Last week, the PYD militias raided the offices of the Council in the town of Qamishli and set them on fire as well as detained many of its members. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)